Japan is an archipelago, including four main islands and over 3,000 small islands stretching over 2,080 kilometers including the main island Honshu, Hokkaido to the north, and Shikoku and Kyushu to the south. The country is narrow, so no point in Japan is more than 95 miles from the seas or ocean. The country is located about 160 kilometers from the mainland [of East Asia, Korea], latitude 36º longitude 138º. Japan is known as “the land of the rising sun” because it appeared to be the easternmost country in the world, on the side from which the sun rose. The characters that make up the Japanese name of Japan, 日本 (Nihon), literally mean “sun base” when separated, reflecting the idea that Japan is the land of the rising sun. This is a unique perception, because most early cultures believed that they were in the center of the world. The Islands of Japan are located in an area known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, in which earthquakes and volcanoes are common, and Japan is affected by around 1,500 earthquakes per year, though the vast majority of the seismic activities are barely noticeable. There are about thirty active volcanoes on the islands of Japan. As a result of these seismic activities, Japan is often pounded by large tidal waves and tsunamis. Because of this, Japan has one of the best natural disaster response plans in the world.
The islands of Japan are relatively young, and were formed relatively violently, and as a result the terrain is very rugged. More then 80% of the land is mountainous, so the flat, fertile lowlands are densely populated. The mountainous areas are usually sparsely populated.
While not the tallest in the world, Japans mountain ranges are very tall, and are mostly uninhabited. The tallest mountain in Japan, Fujiyama, is a dormant volcano rising 3,776 meters above sea level. The mountain ranges run down the middle of the main islands.
Japan has few mineral resources, though it initially had enough resources when it was a nation of farming and fishing people. When Japan industrialized, the need for raw materials skyrocketed. Now Japan must depend on the Middle East for oil and many other countries for iron ore, coal, and other materials. Having no oil resources, Japans economy depends on the stability of the unstable Middle East.
Since Japan is bordered by the Pacific Ocean it experiences the abnormally violent Pacific weather, including a fierce typhoon season from August to October. Aside from that, the climate in Japan is extremely mild, because the warm ocean current causes moderate winter and summer temperatures, and as a result the growing season is very long. Also resulting from Japan’s location (surrounded by water) is the fishing industry. Being an island nation with limited farmland, the fishing industry is one of Japan’s largest industries. Because of this, fish is the main source of protein in the Japanese diet. The lack of farmland does not cause food shortages, though, because farmers take advantage of the climate and often harvest two crops per year, and agricultural engineers are using technology to constantly increase farm productivity, even developing several types of high-yield rice.
The country of Japan consists of nine regions; Hokkaido, Tohoku, Chubu, Kanto, Chugoku, Kansai (a.k.a. Kingi), Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa. Tokyo, the capitol of Japan, is in the Kanto region. The Kanto Plain, one of the largest flat areas in Japan, lies in the Kanto region, which is why it is the most densely populated region in Japan and why the capitol is located there. The northernmost region, Hokkaido, is less populated than the other regions, and has a colder climate. Being less developed than the other regions, Hokkaido attracts many tourists and nature lovers. The Tohoku region, once known for its harsh climate, is now a popular place to go skiing and there are many hot springs. The Chubu region is a very mountainous region, home to Mount Fuji and Nagano, Japan’s winter sports capitol. There are also many natural hot springs in the Chubu region. The Kansai region is home to Japan’s ancient capitol, Kyoto. The Chugoku region is home to Hiroshima, the first city ever to be attacked with an atomic bomb. The Shikoku region is a rural backwater island, but it is mountainous and a good location for hiking. The Kyushu region is the southernmost of Japan’s four main islands, and it has a warmer and more tropical climate than the other islands. Kyushu is home to Nagasaki, the second city to be hit by an atomic bomb. The Okinawa region is an island chain consisting of 57 islands, of which 41 are inhabited. Okinawa has a subtropical climate, and is a popular tourist destination for Japanese people, but not for foreigners.
Much of Japan’s culture has spread throughout the world, for example many forms of Japanese architecture have become popular in America and Europe, and sushi has become a common food in many western countries including America. Japanese animation, called anime, has many fans in every country. The first novel in the world was written in Japan, and became a masterpiece of world literature.
The first settlers of Japan were fishers, hunters, and gatherers who crossed land bridges from Korea in the west and Siberia in the north. From the very beginning Japan’s society was into groups of families called clans. The families were grouped into clans by common ancestors. Early on the belief was established that families inherited their position in society, so each family had a different job within its clan, be it farming, fighting, etc., and that family kept its position for many generations.
The first form of actual government appeared when several clans united and settled the Yamato district, beginning in about A.D. 400. They formed a government and united most of Japan. The leaders of the union, the Tenno clan, claimed to be descended from gods. Eventually, the Tenno became the only ruling dynasty in the history of Japan, and the current emperor is descended from the Tenno clan (though now the emperor and his family have no power, much like the English royal family).
Much of Japanese culture is borrowed from the Chinese. Starting in the 500s, Korean missionaries introduce Buddhism and Chinese culture to Japan. The Japanese quickly adopted Chinese script as their first written language, and sent nobles to China to further study the culture. Japan absorbed almost every aspect of Chinese culture. After the initial excitement about Chinese culture wore off, the Japanese changed to a system of selective borrowing. They adopted the ideas and/or cultural aspects that they liked, such as Buddhism, and rejected those which they did not like, such as the “Mandate of Heaven”. They did, however, adopt the Chinese court system.
The Japanese developed a writing system of their own, because Chinese was not really compatible with spoken Japanese. The characters that make up the Japanese written language are called kana. There are three types of kana; kanji, katakana, and hiragana. Kanji are ideographs, while katakana and hiragana are phonetic alphabets.
Though the emperor was never overthrown, families competed for power at the Heian court (present day Kyoto, it used to be the capitol) during the 800s. Powerful families controlled the land and divided it into private estates, on which peasants worked courtesy of local strongmen. One family, the Fujiwara, acquired more land than others and gained a majority of the power. The Fujiwara family ruled Japan for 200 years, and the emperor remained a figurehead with no real power.
The authority of the Heian court was challenged during the 1100s when strong warrior families, with samurais, fought for control of the land. A new system of government, feudalism, emerged. Feudalism is a form government in which a power is shared between a central government and local landlords. The emperor has the highest rank but had no power other than being used as a figurehead by the real government.
The lowest ranking people in the feudal class were merchants. Serfs were slightly more important; they were bound to the land and their landlord and functioned like slaves. They worked for the landlord and gave him parts of harvests, etc. and in return the landlords offered the serfs protection. The samurai were the extremely loyal warriors that were hired by landlords. Samurais followed a code of conduct called Bushido (way of the warrior) that focused on bravery, loyalty, and honor. They were expected to endure extreme physical hardship without complaint and to not fear death. If they failed in a big way they were expected to kill themselves in ceremonial suicide, or seppuku, by performing hara-kiri (belly slitting).
The lowest ruling class consisted of the daimyo, literally meaning “great names”. The daimyo were local rulers and they also owned the land they ruled. They employed samurai for protection and as enforcers. The daimyo also “owned” the serfs who lived and worked on their land. The daimyo held most of the real power in feudal Japan. As the emperor remained a figurehead, the shogun (general) took control of the government and established a military government.
After being defeated in World War II, Japan recovered and modernized at an amazing rate. Now Japan has one of the most advanced technology industries, a 99.99% literacy rate, and some of the best colleges in the world. Of course, they have not totally modernized. There is little diversity in Japan. Minorities are nearly nonexistent and it is almost impossible for a foreigner to gain Japanese citizenship. Women are discriminated against in the workplace because the traditional views of society still exist. Japans culture is constantly changing as the country continues to modernize.
Copyright 2004 Jay Speidell a.k.a. Quackzilla, all rights reserved.
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T-Shirt in Japan. 
